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Episode 506: Enemy of My Enemy
Enemy of My Enemy is the sixth episode of the fifth season. Notes *Clients: **CIA/Agent Pearce *Bad Guys: **Carmelo Dante **Djovic Cast Main * Michael Westen * Sam Axe * Fiona Glenanne * Madeline Westen * Jesse Porter Recurring *Sugar *Carmelo Synopsis Michael must convince a drug dealer and a group of Serbians to go into a gang war so that he can retrieve a military grade weapon. Spy Facts There's a long tradition of using doubles in espionage. They're mostly used by dictators who want to confuse would-be assassins. But they have other, less common uses. Like framing someone for a crime they didn't commit. When confronting an armed enemy, the big question is what weapons they're bringing to the fight. Trick your enemy into bringing the wrong weapon, and you've got the advantage. If someone thinks they're taking fire from a sniper for example, they'll choose something long range with a long barrel. Which won't do you much good in close combat. For a spy, one of the most useful contacts in the criminal underworld is the small-time drug dealer. Their work demands that they stay informed about their rivals, their suppliers, the police, and any other bad guys who might be operating in their area. The key to robbing an armed transport is to stop the vehicle without putting the guards on the defensive. Shooting a tire can cause a blowout without arousing suspicion, but it takes a gifted sniper to hit a target moving 40 miles per hour. Staging a scene is one of the most important deception techniques in espionage. You're telling a story. Arranging evidence for someone to discover so they'll believe what you want them to believe. If it works, there's nothing like it. If it doesn't work, well, it's good to be nearby with a sniper rifle. For a spy, there's no greater victory than successfully inserting an asset into a hostile organization. Of course, it's a little hard to celebrate that victory when the hostile organization is a bunch of trigger-happy drug dealers, and the asset is your best friend. The first moments of an infiltration are crucially important. That's when your establishing yourself. What you know about them, what they know about you, and most importantly, how useful you're going to be. If the target decides you're useful, you're in. If they decide you're not useful, you're usually dead. Establishing a cover as a drug addict isn't glamorous, but it has its advantages. People don't expect addicts to be rational, so they don't question their motives. Nothing explains an unwanted intrusion, quite like the impression that you're high as a kite. Not all of the intelligence spies use is stolen, or even secret. When the information you need involves a lot of data, like searching for a single face in the population of Miami, what you really need is access to the right database. Which is usually behind the counter at the closest government agency. The most advanced computer is worse at identifying faces than a newborn baby. Unless a photo is taken straight on under direct lighting, facial-recognition software is nearly worthless. Fortunately, driver's licence photos are taken straight on under direct lighting for exactly that reason. Navigation systems combine data from traffic helicopters, police scanners, and road sensors to estimate the driving time along your route. But compiling all that data creates a time lag. There's still no quicker way to get across town, than being guided by somebody who has access to real-time satellite imagery. For a spy, sneaking into the middle of a gun battle to pull someone out is one of the less popular assignments. It's mostly about timing. Go in too early, and you have both sides shooting at you. Go in too late, and, well, you're too late. Trivia * Gabriel Manaro and Matt Bailey's 'rocky past' with Sam Axe can be traced back to The Fall of Sam Axe, where the two men are manning an outpost in Colombia until interrupted by Sam and the Espada Ardiente. * Gabriel and Matt are the spies Sam calls 'bitchy little girls' in the intro sequence. References 506 506